Watchman Lodge, Zion National Park

Master Site—Lodges (Registered 1000060789)

Two buildings to be certified—

Watchman Lodge (Registered 1000060798)

Sentinel Lodge (Registered 1000060797)

Xanterra Parks & Resorts, the park concessionaire under contract to the National Park Service, has undertaken the registration and certification of two primary hotel lodges within Zion National Park. The two lodges, adjacent to each other, make for a natural Master Site under LEED-EB: O&M version 3. 

After an early analysis of sustainability strategies and technologies currently employed, the Xanterra facilities and maintenance staff planned upgrades that could be undertaken using “off the shelf” technology.  Under the leadership of the head of Facilities and the Director of Sustainability, the “green team” developed policies and strategies to be employed that meet or exceed LEED-EB: O&M standards.  The General Manager for Xanterra at Zion National Park enthusiastically supported these efforts and implemented the changes.

ral initiatives to better manage energy and reduce its carbon footprint, including:

• 100% Renewable Energy Offsets
• LED Nightlights in all motel rooms
• Recycled content carpet throughout Motel rooms
• ISO 14001 certification
• Reduced fleet by 23% in 2010, reduce fuel consumption by 43.2% in 2010
• Installed Melink Intelli-Hood in kitchen
• Winner of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality Pollution Prevention Association Outstanding Achievement Award for guest outreach
• Received Green Seal Lodging Certification (GS-33) Gold level, becoming one of only three hotels certified at that level
• 100% Off-Set of Overnight Guest Carbon emissions through renewable energy purchases
• First property to eliminate the sale of bottled water
• Provide each staff member with BPA-free water bottle
• Implemented a Green Cleaning Plan compliant with GS-42 standard
• Improved retail outreach on environmentally preferable products using a scorecard system
• Outreach signage on recycling and climate change were added to the restroom stalls in the lodge
• Park Beautification Day included participation of 6 employees who cleaned waste receptacles and collected litter
• Installed a re-circulating cooling water system for the walk-in coolers (water savings 800,000 gallons)
• Received Utah Pollution Prevention Association 2012 Meritorious Achievement Award 

Two sustainability consulting firms were contracted to support the Xanterra staffs’ efforts. Energy analysis and LEED-EB:O&M resources were provided to obtain the first LEED-EB: O&M certification to be obtained by Zion National Park and Xanterra.